TABOR COLLEGE: High altitude doesn't faze Bluejay harriers
Lady Bluejays take fourth at Colorado College Invitational
Two questions were left for the Bluejay cross country team to answer Saturday at the Colorado College Invitational in Colorado Springs.
How would the teams fare in their first full distance meet of the year, and would the high elevation effect their performances?
For the Lady Bluejays, "fourth place" answered the first question with 133 points, and "adjustable" answered the second.
The University of Colorado-Colorado Springs won both the women's and men's divisions with 24 and 21 points, respectively.
One who was unfazed was Angie Jost, who made a return home to Colorado where she finished the five-kilometer race in a team best 20:41, 9/100 of a second ahead of teammate and 16th-place finisher Karen Patton.
For the first time in four tries in Colorado, Patton was finally able to eclipse the 21:00 mark in 20:50.
Erin Voth trimmed 1:10 off last year's time to 23:36 for 49th place out of 70 finishers.
Sarah Frick finished 57th, but she knocked nearly 2:00 off last year's finish, along with Esther Richert, who took 60th in 24:45.
Finishing at 66th, Tia Akers sped up two seconds to 25:40.
The high altitude could have slowed down the men, who did not place.
Pacing the men was a 26th-place finish by senior Kevin Nickel.
Much like fellow senior, Patton, the fourth time was the charm for Nickel, turning in a time of 29:26, his first time breaking 30:00.
Ryan Sperling, the 52nd place finisher, improved nearly a half-minute at 31:25.
"We ran well for this early in the season," said Bluejay cross country coach Karol Hunt. "Running at 6,000 feet when we've been training at 1,400 feet is not the easiest.
"It's good to see the improvement of the returning runners. I was really pleased with our seniors (Patton and Nickel) who both had outstanding races. In addition, their leadership is a tremendous benefit to the team."
The Bluejays travel Friday to Rice Park in Hutchinson for a meet hosted by Hutchinson Community College.
Races begin at 4 p.m.
Women's results
13. Jost, 20:41. 16. Patton, 20:50. 37. Emily Aldis, 22:14. 49. Voth, 23:36. 57. Frick, 24:36. 60. Richert, 24:45. 66. Akers, 25:40.
Men's
26. Nickel, 29:26. 52. Ryan Sperling, 31:25. 56. Matt Lynam, 32:25. Will Higerd, 35:03.
